Garment crotch construction



March 1940- G. E. RUTLEDGE GARMENT CROTCH CONSTRUCTION Filed May 51, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 George Z. FuJ/ /edg March 12, 1940.

G. E. RUTLEDGE 2,193,467

GARMENT CROI'CH CONSTRUCTION Filed May 31, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 V v y Fuf/ecrge C Patented Mar. 12, 1940 UNiTE G'ARMENT .CROTCH CONSTRUCTION .George .E. Rutledge, Chicago, 111., assignor .to Vassar Comnany, Chicago, Ill., a corporation of Illinois Application May 1-31, 1938, Serial No. 211,035

17 Claims.

This invention relates to an improved garment crotch construction and involves an improved fabric for,.and as embodied :in, aformfitting crotch portion of garments, particularly #5 swim trunks or suits, and undergarments both with'and without leg sections such as mens pants or shorts and womens panties.

One object ofithe invention 'isito provide .a .gar-' vmerit :crotch portion which will fit nicely in the lower-area between the legs without hulging or binding, and further, to obtain such result without imposing undue strain in the upper area of :the crotch portion. For reasons hereafter explained the arrangement is such as to :be equally suitable for persons who are narrow and those who are -wide between the legs.

Another object of the invention is tofprovide a garment crotch-portion which in the upper area, above the .part which passes between the legs, will be free of undue strain and which will avoid tension and pressure on the parts of the. body which it covers.

.A further object is to provide a crotch porticn equally suitable for garments having leg openingshcside the crotch'and those having de pending leg sections.

Still another object is to provide a crotch por-v tion which can be, and desirably is, formed as an integral fabric unit, and which will have markedly different characteristics :in different areas. threads rendering it elastic to a degree but with a strong tendency to contract so as to accommodate-itself to the narrow space between the legs without-bulging. The upper area of the crotch portion, preferably at the rear as well as at the front, will be readily stretchable but having a low, or negligible, contractile tendency so as to loosely fit the body, and the same will be free with other parts of the garment. At the same time, due to the differences in texture in the different areas the width of the strip will benarrow in-the lower area and wide in the upper area.

resulting fashioned shape is particularly suited to the crotch area of the body and that the crotch strip maybe joined without further fashioning to the other'parts oi the garment.

The above and other features and benefits of The lowermost area will incorporate rubber cross enabling the same to be conveniently assembled,

It is found and intended, furthermore, that the,

the invention may be readily understood from the following description of representative embodimerits-of the invention shown in the appended drawings. In such drawings:

Fig. l is a front view of--one type of womens underga-rinent girdle panties, embodying the new crotch construction;

Fig. 2 is a bottom view of thesame garment with the 'leg sections spread to showthe crotch portion; -10

Fig. 3 is l a front view of a :pair of mens shorts? also employing the invention;

Fig. 4 is a plan vicw, more or less diagrammatic and substantially actual size, of a preferred embodiment of a knitted crotch strip, the same being the same as shownin the-garments of Figs. 1 and 3; and

Figs. 5, 6 and .7 are fragmentary comparative views, diagrammatic and greatly magnified, illustrating the difference intexture in the diner- :ent areas of thecrotch stripoi Fig. 4.

Referring first to Fig. 4, andthe detailed views of Figs. 5 7, the crotch strip includes an upper front crotch area adapted "to overlie the low- ;ermost .iront areaoi the body, and which in the presentembodiment is divided into two sections and B. Section A will the knit under little or :no tension of inelastic thread so as to form .a looselylrnit readily-stretchable texture having, when distended, little contractile tendency, thus providing a loose tfit. crably :not limit in or :laid :in these sections of the strip in order to obtain the characteristics just'mention'ed.

Section B may be identical with section A, but

inthepresent embodiment is knit under a suitable thread tension .so as to provide a tighter stitch structure than in section A, as will be seenby a comparison of Figs. 5'and ii. Again inelasticthread such as cotton, silk or rayon, will be employed in the absence 0f lastex threads. The texture in area B will be somewhat less stretchable and more resilient than section A, and "the normal width thereof willtendto be less than the first section and the opposite side edges its and it which extend along the two sections will converge .in'the direction of section B The lower crotch section C connects with the 'l'ower en'd of section B and is intended to pass "between 'thelegs. The same may be knit with the same or'a'diiferent type of, stitch but will be so :icrme'd'that it is relatively narrow. To this send, and torin-aintain'the same suficientiy contracted to :prevent bulging between the legs, rub-- ber threads l2 diagrammatically indicated in Figs. 4 and '2 will be laidin knitted courses of section-C under considerable tension. The rubber threads-need be laid in only recurrent spaced courses and the courses themselves formed of inelastic thread. The frequency of insertionmay Rubber thread is prefbe varied considerably depending somewhat on the size of the rubber thread. When the strip comes from the knitting machine the rubber threads contract the section to the narrow form shown in Fig. 4. The opposite side edges l3 and M will be parallel if a uniform tension is employed on the rubber threads throughout the section and meet the respective edges Hi and H of sections A and B as indicated.

The upper rear crotch area is knit on the lower end of section C. To obtain similar benefits as at the front, such rear area may be knit in the manner of section A or section B, or both. Here the same is divided into two sections B and A,

respectively formed in the manner of sections B and A with flaring edges l5 and 56. Thus the crotch strip has a central narrow part consisting of section C, and two wider flaring end portions A, B and B, A.

The length of sections A, A relative to C may be varied, and the same is true of sections B, B when they are employed. As previously mentioned the formation of section B in the specific manner shown in Fig. 6 can be omitted. The essential aim of the invention is that the upper crotch area as represented by section A, or sections A and B at the front shall be relatively stretchable and loosely fitting and that the lower crotch section 0 shall be narrow and fit between the legs. Preferably while all sections will be transversely stretchable to a varying extent, they need not be stretchable vertically.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the knitted crotch strip is shown applied to an undergarment having leg sections, the same being a type of womens panties. The main body portion Il may be made of any suitable solid or net material employing inelastic and/ or knit, or laid in, rubber thread, and may be one or two way stretch knitted fabric. At least in the area adjoining the crotch portion it is desirable that the body portion be so constituted as to be transversely stretchable although not necessarily to the same extent as the upper area of the crotch portion. The central lower edge of the body portion will be joined by looping or elastic seaming 58 to the end. of section A of the crotch strip. The end of the rear upper crotch section A will be similarly joined along line I 9 to the central rear lower edge of the main body section l'i.

Depending from the body section are leg sections 26 and 2! here of rib knit fabric, which will be seamed along lines 22 and 23 to the edges of the crotch strip as seen in Fig. 2. It will be evident that the crotch arrangement will nicely fit between the legs and provide a comfortable loose fit in the upper crotch areas at the front and rear.

The assembly of the crotch piece in a legless type of mens pants is shown in Fig. 3. The main body portion 24 thereof may be of any suitable material. If made of elastic fabric, either one or two way stretch, with rubber thread laid in under considerable tension, it is desirable that the tension be lessened in the lower area 25 thereof for a short distance above the crotch piece 26, of the form heretofore described, so as not to impair the stretch of the upper section A of the latter part which will be joined thereto by an elastic seaming or by looping along line 21. Edging strips 28 may be attached to the side edges of the crotch piece and around the leg openings formed thereby with the body section as shown. The end of the rear upper section A will be seamed or looped along line 29 to the central rear end of the body section.

The invention is capable of application to other types of garments than shown where a form-fitting crotch portion is desired, and the same may be made integral with the garment body if desired. The essential benefits of the invention are not necessarily limited to the specific form and structure shown and the drawings are to be considered as illustrative only. Where for convenience in the claims I employ the term undergarment, the same is to be construed generally to include bathing garments as well as nether garments.

I claim:

1. In a garment having a main body portion terminating above the crotch area, a crotch piece comprising an elongated fabric strip having an upper crotch section adapted to cover the front crotch area of the bodyand a lower crotch section adapted to fit between the legs, said lower section' embodying elastic threads put in under tension and being transversely contracted by said elastic threads to a narrower width than said upper section.

2. In a garment having a main body portion terminating above the crotch area, a crotch piece comprising a fabric strip having a narrow section sufiicientlynarrow to fit between the legs embodying rubber cross threads put in under tension, said cross threads resisting transvere stretching of said section and tending to maintain the section in its narrow form, and an adjoining easily stretchable section of low resiliency adapted to loosely fit the front crotch area of the body.

3. In a garment having a main body portion terminating above the crotch area, a crotch piece comprising a knitted fabric strip having a section sufficiently narrow to fit between the legs embodying rubber cross threads put in under tension and serving to contract the section to narrow width, and an adjoining transversely stretchable section composed entirely of inelastic thread adapted to fit the front crotch area of the body.

4. In a garment as in claim 3, a crotch piece wherein the front crotch section is wider at its outer end than the first section and has opposite side edges which converge to meet the side edges of the first section.

5. In a garment having a main body portion terminating above the crotch area, a crotch piece comprising a knitted fabric strip having a section adapted to fit between the legs embodying rubber threads put in under tension and tending to contract the section to narrow width suificient to fit between the legs, and a loosely knit, easily stretchable section of low resiliency composed entirely of inelastic thread adapted to loosely fit the front crotch area of the body below the abdominal area.

6. A garment crotch piece comprising a knitted fabric strip having a section adapted. to fit between the legs embodying rubber threads tending to contract the section to narrow width sufficient to fit between the legs, a loosely knit, easily stretchable wider upper section of low resiliency composed entirely of inelastic thread adapted to loosely fit the front crotch area of the body. and a section intermediate and interconnecting the first and second sections more tightly knit than the second section and composed entirely of inelastic thread. i

7. A garment crotch piece comprising a fabric strip comprising a first section and a second section at the lower end of the first section collectively being adapted to cover the front crotch area, said first section being easily transversely stretchable and of low resiliency, said second section being transversely stretchable to a less degree than the first section and being of higher resiliency, and a third section adapted to fit be tween the legs connected to the second section, said third section embodying rubber threads tending to contract the same to narrow width, narrower than the first and second sections and sufficiently narrow to fit between the legs and being less easily stretched and having a greater resiliency than either thefirst or second sections.

8. In a garment having a main body portion terminating above the crotch area, a crotch piece comprising an elastic fabric strip having a central section adapted-to fit between the legs, a front section connecting with one end of the cam tral section adapted to cover the front crotch area, said front section being transversely stretchable to a greater degree than the central section and being of lower resiliency, and a rear section similar to the front section connecting with the other end of the central section and adapted to cover the rear crotch-area, said central section embodying elastic threads put in under tension and being contracted by said elastic threads to a narrower width than said front and rear portions.

9. In a garment as in claim 8, a crotch piece wherein the front and back sections are of greater width at their outer ends than the central section, and wherein the opposite side edges of the front and back crotch sections converge to meet the side edges of thecentral section.

10. A garment crotch piece comprising an elongated knitted fabric strip having lengthwise extending knitted wales, said strip including a narrow central portion adapted to fitbetween the legs and containing in recurrent courses laid-in threads tending to maintain said section in its narrow form, and opposite end sections free of laid-in cross-threads containing the same number of knitted wales as thecentral portion and being defined by oppositely inclined side edge portions which converge to meet theside edge portions of the central section, said strip having salvage side edges each defined throughout the length of the strip by a single knitted wale.

11. An undergarment comprising a main fabric body portion, terminating above the front and rear crotch areas of the body, and a crotch portion connected at its opposite ends to the lower front and rear central parts of the body portion and adapted to cover the front crotch area, the area between the legs and the rear crotch area of the body, the crotch portion having upper easily stretchable front and rear sections of low resiliency adapted to loosely fit the front and rear crotch areas, and a central section adapted to fit between the legs embodying rubber threads tending to contract the central section to a narrower width than the front crotchsection.

12. An undergarment comprising a main fabric body portion of elastic fabric, a loosely fitting front crotch section connecting withthe front lower end of the body portion and being composed of easily stretchable fabric of low resiliency, a narrow elastic central section less stretchable than the front crotch section connecting with the lower end. of the front crotch section embodying rubber threads tending to contract the same to narrower width than the front crotch section, and'a loosely fitting rear crotch section similar in character to the front crotch section connecting with theother end of the central section and being secured at its upper end to the rear lower end of the body portion.

13. In a garment having a main-body portion terminating above the crotch area, a crotch piece comprising an elongated fabric strip having a transversely stretchable upper strip section.

adapted toloosely fit the front crotch area of the body and formed of easily stretchable elastic fabric of low resiliency, and a connecting transversely stretchable narrow strip section below adapted to fit between the legs and formed of fabric which is less stretchable transversely than the upper strip section.

14. -A garment crotch piece comprising an elongated knitted fabric strip having lengthwise extending knitted wales, said strip including a narrow section adapted to fit between the legs and formed of transversely stretchable knitted fabric containing elastic cross threads in recurrent of its courses tending to maintain the section in its narrow form, and an adjoining upper front crotch section, relatively narrow but wider than said first section, adapted to cover the front crotch area containing the same number of knitted wales as the first section, but being free of cross threads and being'inore stretchable transversely than the first section.

15. A garment crotch piece comprising an elon gated knitted fabric strip having lengthwise ex- ,ten'ding knitted wales, said strip including a nar- 1 row section adapted tofit between the, legs do-' fined by opposite selvage side-edges formed by single knitted wales, and a wider section adjoining the lower end of the first section adapted to cover the front crotch area, said second section containing the same number of knitted wales as the narrow section and being defined by oppositely inclined selvage side edges which converge and meet the selvage edges of the first section and formed by single knitted wales in continua tion of the respectiveedge wales of the first section; I f:

16. An undergarment comprising a fabric main body section covering the front and rcar areas of the trunk and in its central front part terminating in a lower end above the front crotch area, and a crotch portion joined to and extending between the front and rear lower ends of the ,body portion, said crotch portionincluding an elastic upper-front section covering the front crotch area and formed of loosely knitted fabric which is more stretchable than the main. body section, and a lower icrotch section extending rearwardly between the legs and formedof lessstretchable fabric than the'upper crotch-section;

17. An undergarment comprising a fabric main body section covering the front and rear areas of the trunk and in its central front part terminating in a lower end' above the front crotch area, and a crotch portion joined to and extending between the front and rearlower ends of the body portion, said crotch portion including an elastic upper front section covering the front crotch areaand formed of easily stretchable knitted fabric having a low resistance to stretching from its normal unstretched condition and when in stretched condition having only a slight tendency to contract toits normal unstretched condition, anda lower crotch section extending rearwardly between the. legs and formed of fabric embodying cross threads which render said lower section more resistive to transverse stretchingthan the upper crotch section.

to I

GEORGE E. RU'ILEDGE, I 

